Davis County Clipper, June 6, 1898
Springville Bank Robbed. One Robber Killed, the Other Captured and Money Recovered. Captured Robber is a member of the Robbers Roost Band and Has a Price on His Head -- One of the Posse Seriously Wounded.
Springville, May 30 -- Springville has experienced the sensations of a bank robbery, a hard, but successful chase after the robbers, the surrounding of them in a patch of thick brush, the killing of one and the capture of the other. And to use ht expression of the live robber after he had been jailed, the old town is not as sleepy as it looks to be.
The robbery occurred at 10;05 a.m. Saturday. Two men walked into the Springville Bank and presented a check as follows:
Springville, Utah May 28, 1898. On sight pay to the order of T.S. Cerswell the sum of $200. C.H. Charter. By T.C. Burton.
They asked the bookkeeper, Mr. Packard, the only person there was in the bank at the time, if Mr. Carter had left any money there to pay the check with. He replied that he had not. Then turning to his books Mr. Packard was startled with, "Look here young man” in a commanding tone, and looking up found himself covered by two revolvers.
The robber who was afterward killed kept Packard covered while the other robber went behind the railing and began gathering up all the money he could find. While thus engaged he dropped a stack of twenties, and while picking them up Packard lowered his hand and touched an alarm button. The robber on guard noticed the movement and exclaimed: "G -- d -- you! put that hand up and keep it there!”
The alarm is connected with Mr. Reynolds’s store. On several previous occasions the alarm had been accidentally sounded and this was thought to have been the case again. So Mr. Reynolds stepped up to the telephone, and rung up the bank to ask if anything was wrong. Receiving no reply he realized this was no false alarm. He grabbed two Winchesters and rushed for the street, but the robbers were turning a street corner a block away. Messengers were started on bicycles, on horseback and on foot to raise the alarm, and in an incredibly short time a large posse was in pursuit.
The robbers after securing all the money in sight, $3020, jumped in a buggy they had near the bank and started on a dead run for Hobble Creek canyon. Near the outskirts of the city they met Mr. Snelson riding a fine horse. They took his horse from him and threw him $16. One of the robbers mounted the horse and the other continued by buggy. By this time Mr. Reynolds in his delivery wagon was within 150 yards of them, and fired two shots which were not noticed by the robbers. Soon afterward the robbers, seeing they were being overtaken left their buggy and took to the brush at the mouth of the canyon. In 20 minutes 100 horsemen were on the ground and had the robbers completely surrounded so that escape was impossible.
A consultation was held and Joseph W. Allen proposed they close in on the robbers. This was adopted. In a few minutes one of the robbers was found covered with leaves. He surrendered on demand and was handcuffed. He was unarmed, having lost his revolvers in the brush. The other man was seen by Mr. Allen who said to him: "Now don’t you move or I’ll get you.” "I’ll get you while you’re getting me,” the robber replied and fired, striking Allen in the left leg. Allen returned the fire killing his man instantly. It was five minutes before any of the posse came up, when the robber was found dead.
Allen was tenderly cared for and sent to a Salt Lake hospital where his leg was amputated. The thigh bone was shattered.
Most of the money was recovered on the robbers or found buried near their hiding place.
The live robber was landed in the county jail at Provo, where he has been positively identified as C.L. Maxwell, a member of the Robbers Roost band, for whom a reward was recently offered by Governor Wells. He refuses to give the name of the dead robber, but says he was a married man with a family.
It was a Robbers Roost raid, and from a remark dropped by the captured robber, it is believed men were waiting with horses at a point further up the canyon, but the robbers were too hard pressed to reach them. The pursuit was too swift.